10 January 2009

One of the themes of this blog is the relationship between scarcity and abundance. Here's a good example of how you make something artifically valuable by making it scarce:

Due to very heavy traffic we’re seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta, and I’ll be posting here again soon once the beta goes live. Stay tuned! We are excited that you are excited!

So either they're saying that they didn't expect Windows 7 beta to be popular and their infrastructure doesn't scale, or they've let this happen on purpose to generate a little buzz. In other words, in order to make Windows 7 desirable, first you make it unobtainable....

4 comments:

in order to make Windows 7 desirable, first you make it unobtainable...._______________I think Microsoft is actively doing this very thing by "strongly" encouraging OEMs to pull their XP drivers from their support sites ASAP. Ironic that the Vista beast gave XP a second life!

About Me

I have been a technology journalist and consultant for 30 years, covering
the Internet since March 1994, and the free software world since 1995.

One early feature I wrote was for Wired in 1997:
The Greatest OS that (N)ever Was.
My most recent books are Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, and Digital Code of Life: How Bioinformatics is Revolutionizing Science, Medicine and Business.